by Bonnie Vanak
A brilliant blue flash and a puff of cobalt smoke. Out of the haze stepped a tall, black-haired man with a well-trimmed beard and intense, blue eyes. Wearing a cobalt-blue tunic and trousers, and soft, doeskin boots, he looked wary.
Drust, the new Coldfire Wizard. He had been a dragon shifter in his mortal life.
“I need a favor from you,” Tristan told him.
The man’s tension fled, and he smiled, erasing the grim look. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Xavier is the prisoner of Andromeda,” he began.
Ciara pushed past him. “Andromeda is bound to the Dark Lord. Xavier gave his immortality and powers to me because he could not fight her or the Dark Lord. Before he died to his mortal self, he pledged a vow to Duncan, who became the Dark Lord.”
Drust looked at her. “Then stop wasting my time, and let’s get to him.”
Cadeyrn snapped his fingers and transported them. Ciara gasped at the tremendous power of the Shadow Wizard.
They were in Andromeda’s basement, only now it was a replica of a dungeon she’d known from her first life on earth.
Duncan’s cave.
Caged behind bars, Xavier sagged against the manacles that bound him spread-eagled. She cried out and ran forward. He was naked but covered in so much blood that she could barely tell.
Red blood.
He was mortal and dying fast. Ciara gripped the bars, feeling a tingle race through her skin. She rattled the bars. “Xavier!” she screamed.
Tristan put his hands on the bars and jumped back, cursing. “It’s welded with black magick.”
The other two tried, and their hands were singed.
Drust pushed her aside.
He sent a powerful current of ice-blue fire streaming at the bars.
They did not bend.
Next he tried the lock. Nothing.
“I can’t unfasten the lock or get past these bars.” Drust growled in frustration.
The other three wizards tried. The iron bars did not budge.
“You can touch them, but we cannot. Why?” Tristan asked.
“Iron is magick of the earth. I have Ogre blood and magick of the earth that protects me. Stand back,” she ordered.
Cadeyrn lifted a brow, but he and the others obeyed.
Once an Ogre, always an Ogre, with an Ogre’s tremendous strength and an Ogre’s powers of the earth. Ciara gripped two bars and began to pull. The iron began to bend and then suddenly snapped.
Tristan rushed into the cage and lifted Xavier into his arms.
They dematerialized to Xavier’s living room. Tristan laid the ex-Crystal Wizard down upon the living room floor. Xavier’s eyes remained swollen shut, his heart barely beating.
“He has tremendous will and strength to keep living through this,” Gideon mused.
Tristan frowned. “I believe there is something holding him here.”
Drust glanced at her. “A very good reason.” Then the wizard knelt at Xavier’s side. “Andromeda’s mistake was using coldfire. Coldfire can torment and kill, but it can also heal and revive if the victim is reached in time and the person administering it is powerful enough.”
Drust stretched out his hands. Currents of bright blue energy flicked and crackled. They shot out, curling around Xavier’s broken, bleeding body. Mending and repairing great, terrible gashes in his torso, face, and limbs. She felt the tremendous power in the air and marveled.
The dragon healed Xavier from the inside as well.
“Clothing, please Drust,” Tristan said drolly.
Drust conjured jeans and a black-and-white baseball shirt to cover Xavier’s nudity.
Xavier opened his eyes. Dulled with pain and shock, they were unfocused.
Ciara knelt beside him, taking his hand. “Xavier? It’s me, Ciara. You’re safe now.”
He began to shake violently. She looked at Tristan. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I healed him,” Drust protested. “He is fine.”
Tristan gently put a hand on Xavier’s sweating forehead. “Physically, yes. Emotionally, he may never recover from what that bitch did to him. His mind has suffered too much.”
Love had to restore him. Ciara stroked his head. “Please, Xavier, come back to me. I love you.”
Xavier closed his eyes, still quivering.
“Only immortality can endow him with the strength he needs to overcome Andromeda’s torture,” Gideon said. “He needs to become the Crystal Wizard again.”
“We need him,” Cadeyrn muttered. “Only Xavier can help us defeat the Dark Lord.”
The Shadow Wizard vanished and then reappeared a minute later, bearing a golden goblet filled with amber liquid. It smelled like roses and honey.
“Xavier, you must come back to us. Drink, X.” Cadeyrn cradled Xavier’s shivering body, his gaze fierce. “Danu gave me this potion to restore your powers and your immortality. Damn you, drink. You must drink and live. We need you.”
Xavier squeezed his eyes shut and compressed his lips.
“Let me try,” Ciara told Cadeyrn. She took the cup and held it to Xavier’s mouth. “Please, my love. For my sake, for our sake, drink. I need you.”
Opening his eyes, he stared at her. And then his gaze shot down to her belly. “Need me,” he whispered.
Xavier started to reach for the cup, but his hand shook too much. She held it to his lips, and he drank.
Shuddering, he coughed. Cadeyrn released him.
“I hate that crap,” he muttered, putting a hand to his head. “Give me a damn minute.”
The other wizards went outside. He looked down at himself, and she caught a glimpse of shame in those incredible, gray-blue eyes.
“Xavier, I thought I lost you.” Tears burned her own eyes as she clasped his hands. “When I saw what that monster did to you…”
He looked away, his jaw tight. “I had no power to fight her. I wanted to die, Ciara. I almost begged her to kill me. She summoned me to her because she wanted to steal my magick. When she discovered I had none, her rage exploded. It was…bad. As bad as the time Duncan tortured and killed me seven hundred years ago. Only the thought of you gave me the strength to live.”
She kissed him, kissing away the pain and the horrible memories, replacing them with only the love and joy they had shared across the ages.
He deepened the kiss, drinking in her mouth as if gathering strength from her. Ciara slid her arms around him, holding him tight, wishing, of all the memories he’d regained, he could lose the ones of his torture.
Finally they pulled away. Xavier pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Andromeda wanted to have sex with me.”
Ciara held her breath. Andromeda had always been beautiful, the woman who had Xavier’s admiration and desire from the beginning. The woman could not love, as Ciara loved, but beauty and sexual appeal had swayed more than mortal men.
She loved Xavier. She would always love him, no matter what.
“What did you tell her?” she asked softly.
“I told her I’d rather stick my dick into a dead dragon.” He grinned.
Trembling inside, she felt her old insecurities arise. “I was an Ogre when you met me, Xavier. And now I’m an Ogre again. Andromeda cursed me to be an ugly Ogre. Your magick made me pretty in Skin form, but inside, I’ll never be a Nymph, just an Ogre.”
Sobering, he picked up both her hands and kissed her knuckles. “Darling Ciara, I’m afraid I have bad news for you. You always were an Ogre inside. You had Ogre blood all along, along with Nymph and witch blood and a bit of cougar shifter. You are a real hybrid. Andromeda doesn’t have the power to change what your true nature is, only to bring it out.”
Her mouth wobbled. “You mean I will always be like that? Green and repulsive? How could you love a beast like that?”
Then he touched her cheek, his gaze soft. “You’re not a beast, my darling Ciara. You’re uniquely, wonderfully you, with a beautiful heart. I love you, Ciara. Only you. Ogre or Nymph, witch or Mage, it d
oesn’t matter what you are. I love you, and you are the only one who holds my heart.”
His mouth was warm and gentle upon hers as she hooked her arms around his neck, cherishing the reassuring tenderness of his kiss.
And then he stood, pulling her with him, beckoning for the other wizards to join them.
They sat in his living room, pondering their next move.
Xavier clasped her hand, his thumb stroking over hers. The contact seemed to settle him. “Andromeda is much more powerful than she ever was. She is connected to the Dark Lord and siphons his power. She will be extremely difficult to destroy.”
As the wizards discussed the Dark Lord’s influence and magick, Ciara listened quietly. She felt awed to be amongst such powerful beings, but Xavier’s grip on her hand reassured her.
“Can’t Danu kill the Dark Lord and, in doing so, destroy Andromeda?” she asked.
“Danu cannot kill the Dark Lord,” Cadeyrn told them, his gaze grim. “She told me this long ago. Dark and Light cannot eradicate the other.”
“But the Dark Lord will find a way to destroy her. Ignoring the rules,” Xavier countered. He rubbed his short beard. “Duncan cares not for balance. He cares only for himself and his thirst for ultimate power. I know Duncan, knew him before he became the Dark Lord. People, even wizards, seldom change. I know his weaknesses and his strengths. First, we must kill Andromeda. As long as she walks this earth, the Dark Lord can wield his power here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ciara declared. “I’ll help. I can use my new powers to slay her. In fact, I bet I could take her down by myself.”
Cadeyrn chuckled, and Tristan looked amused, while Gideon exchanged glances with Drust. Xavier shook his head.
“The fledgling immortal takes on the forces of darkness,” Cadeyrn said, but though his words mocked, his voice was gentle.
Xavier turned toward her. “You are staying on the sidelines and fighting only as needed.”
“X, we could use her powers to destroy Andromeda,” Tristan countered.
“You must be careful with her.” Xavier’s eyes glowed white. “Ciara is pregnant.”
Stunned, she scowled at him. How dare he be so smug? “I am not! I know my own body.”
Xavier gently rested his large palm upon her flat belly. “And I know it as well, my love. You are carrying my child.”
The other four wizards looked stunned.
“Ah, congratulations,” Gideon offered.
“I am not pregnant!” she yelled, shattering the living room window and shaking the pictures on their walls.
Silence descended in the room, a very male silence as cold air rushed into the room. Gideon sighed and waved a hand, repairing the window. The Crimson Wizard arched a brow at Tristan.
“Nikita did that to you only last week,” he observed.
Tristan nodded.
Ciara burst into tears.
Tristan whistled. “She is pregnant.”
“Yes, indeed,” Drust murmured.
“Congratulations, X,” Cadeyrn said, and of all of them, he looked the most pleased.
Nausea swirled in her stomach. She glared at Xavier. “Stop this.”
And then she ran into the kitchen, bent over the sink, and heaved the contents of her stomach.
She heard Tristan tell Xavier, “Good luck, my friend. The next few months will be… challenging. Nikita is only in her second month, and it has been…quite interesting.”
“At least now she will have company.” Xavier sighed.
“A pregnant wizard with your powers,” Gideon mused. “I advise you, my friend, to pay heed to whatever cravings she may have, lest you wish to have more windows broken.”
Trembling, Ciara wiped her mouth with a paper towel. She drank water and felt stronger. Better. More in control. With the emotions she’d endured over the last eight hours, who could blame her for upchucking? She couldn’t be pregnant…could she?
Ciara set aside that concern for now. Pregnant or not, she had to help destroy Andromeda because, as long as that witch drew breath, no one was safe.
She came into the living room, drawing upon the power Xavier had endowed in her to center herself. “Listen to me, wizards. Whether or not I am pregnant—”
“Which you are,” Xavier put in helpfully.
At her glare, he finally fell silent, exchanging knowing glances with Tristan.
“Is a moot point. You need me to defeat Andromeda. My powers, not the ones you gave me, but my original earth powers. Where you go—” she turned to Xavier, resolved and firm—“I go.”
His mouth quirked, and then he gave her a hard, swift kiss. “Shall we?”
Ciara nodded. “Let’s go destroy that bitch.”
24
Xavier didn’t want to return to the place of his torture. Although the restoration of his powers as the Crystal Wizard had stabilized his mind and soothed his psyche, deep inside remained the memory of his skin sliced open, his insides burning.
Only the thought of Ciara and the child she carried centered him. For her sake, they must find a way to destroy Andromeda.
As the youngest wizard, he knew he was the least experienced in vanquishing pure evil. Cadeyrn, his mentor, was the expert. But Xavier knew Duncan, had worked closely with him, and knew his weaknesses and vanity. Xavier felt confident he could vanquish Andromeda, and in doing so, it might even weaken the Dark Lord, Duncan himself.
All six of them materialized inside the dank, dimly lit basement of Andromeda’s mansion. Xavier shuddered as he looked at the cage where she’d held him captive. He cocked his head, smelling the air.
Her scent, cloying perfume with the sour stench of decaying earth, had faded.
“She’s not here.” Dropping Ciara’s hand, he walked around the basement, examining the empty cages. “Either she was trying to recreate Duncan’s workshop for sentiment’s sake…”
Cadeyrn stood beside him, his expression grim. “Or she is out, scouring for more victims to torture.”
Ciara’s nostrils flared. “It makes no sense. Torture for the sake of enjoying others’ suffering serves no purpose for someone as ambitious as Andromeda. When I knew her from my past life, she was vain but aligned herself with Duncan to learn the mystic arts.”
Tristan looked surprised. “You remember your previous life?”
“All those memories returned to me when I inherited Xavier’s powers.”
“Let us hope you did not inherit his disturbing taste in fashion,” Gideon muttered.
Grinning, she waved a hand, and her flowing, blue gown turned into a lime-green pantsuit with a flared collar and go-go boots. Gideon groaned.
“My eyes,” the Crimson Wizard complained, as Xavier chuckled.
“Stop this foolishness,” Cadeyrn ordered. “She’s not here. Then she must be in the forest, searching for more victims.”
“But why?” Gideon wondered as Ciara waved a hand, conjuring her blue gown once more.
Suddenly Xavier knew the reason. “Not to torment for the sake of watching but to use their sufferings and make a potion. An elixir that will raise the Dark Lord’s essence here on earth.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Drust put in. “The Dark Lord, even if he is Duncan, your former master, is bound in the Dark Lands. His soul cannot leave.”
“No. But with the elixir, infused with Andromeda’s powers, he could gather enough followers in this world, bind them with his magick, and order them do his bidding.” Xavier sniffed the air again, smelling the distinct odor of sulfur. “Enough followers and the earth would be plunged into darkness and chaos.”
“Like a bacteria spreading,” Ciara said. “A plague infecting innocents.”
“And where chaos reigns, so does the Dark Lord,” muttered Tristan.
Cadeyrn gave him an approving nod. “Xavier, show us the place you last spotted a sacrifice.”
Sending the location via telepathy to the others, he clasped Ciara’s hand and dematerialized. She was too inexperienced to maste
r the art of teleporting. He would guide her over the coming weeks.
They still had many questions to answer, but he would deal with it later.
The flat boulder where Andromeda had cut up her victim still showed signs of violence, dark, rusty stains upon the granite rock. Jagged, snow-capped mountains ringed the flat valley, and the pine and aspen trees around the clearing appeared blackened and dead.
“She’s here,” he said, turning around. “I can feel her.”
Drust’s nostrils flared. “I can smell her. The stench is most offensive.”
“Worse than Tristan’s socks,” Xavier agreed as the Silver Wizard frowned.
Xavier squatted down, touching the earth, wincing as he heard the screams of Others that Andromeda had rounded up, planning to torture and sacrifice.
“She is coming,” he said, standing and dusting off his hands. “She has at least fifteen of your shifters prisoner, Tristan.”
“Dark magick chains?” Drust asked.
Tristan’s eyes glowed an eerie blue, signaling the rise of his powers. “No. Ordinary iron. I shall take care of it.”
They sank back amongst a clump of blackened brush to await Andromeda’s arrival. It did not take long. Xavier heard the clinking of chains, and as he peered out, he saw fifteen shifters, their auras dulled, shuffling along.
Gregory the bear was among them, the tall shifter looking defeated. Xavier bristled with rage for his friend but calmed his emotions.
He sent Tristan a telepathic thought. Now.
The Silver Wizard stepped from behind the brush. Tristan directed a bolt of silver energy at the chains, dissolving them. The shifters immediately turned into their animal forms and bolted.
As the five of them joined Tristan, facing Andromeda, the witch raged, tearing at her hair. “You stupid bastards! Do you think that will stop me or my master?”
Black flames suddenly ringed them, smoke curling into thick fingers. Dark flames, endowed with neocromancer magick. A low laugh drifted through the air.
“Not one wizard from the Brehon but five,” Andromeda sang out. “What a treat for my master. He’ll love seeing your blood spill upon the earth.”
